Scio Diamond - Multi Year / Multi-Million Dollar Sales Contract

GREENVILLE, SC, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Scio Diamond Technology
Corporation (OTC-BB: SCIOE.OB) announced today that it has signed a
multi-year / multi-million dollar sales agreement with an international
supplier of precision diamond cutting tool products. Scio will be
providing, in mass quantities, CVD single crystal diamond in specified
wafer sizes. Scio has also consummated several other sales agreements
with customers in the research and development, commercial/industrial,
and gemstone markets.

"Lab grown diamond availability has always been a major concern", says
Joe Lancia, Scio Diamond's CEO. "Our solution to the supply constraint
begins to open the door to high level growth for the lab grown diamond
industry."

Customers need not take Scio's word for it though. "Our international
clients spent days in South Carolina familiarizing themselves with our
production rates and quality approaches," said Mike McMahon, Scio's
COO. "We know our diamond quality has been proven to be very high, but
it is hard to fathom our growth levels without in depth understanding.
So they come to see for themselves."

"The impact of these orders can not be overstated," says Lancia.
"Hitting this milestone is great, but more important is the trust that
companies are putting in Scio for quality and delivery of lab grown
diamond."

Charlie Nichols, Scio CFO, notes, "Our management team meets daily
regarding pricing and capacity to meet new opportunities. We are
focused on 100% delivery." The company has been pleased with its
production track record over the first 4,000 hours of diamond growth,
but management will take a measured approach to new business.

"To meet new opportunities as they arise, we must focus on continued
increases to our production levels while we enact an aggressive plan to
become vertical in our laser and polishing operations in our fiscal 3rd quarter," says Lancia.

About SCIO Diamond

Scio Diamond employs a patent-protected chemical vapor deposition
process to produce high-quality, single-crystal diamonds in a
controlled laboratory setting, with such diamonds referred to as
"lab-grown" or cultivated diamonds. The diamonds have the identical
chemical, physical and optical properties as diamonds found in the
earth, and the company's highly controlled manufacturing process
enables it to produce very high-quality, high-purity, high volume,
single-crystal colorless, near colorless and fancy colored diamonds.

Scio's technology permits it to produce lab-grown diamond in size,
color, and quality combinations that are very rare in nature. SCIO
intends to offer diamonds in limited quantities as jewelry and in the
technology arena as the material operating system of the future.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements that may involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Scio Diamond
Technology Corporation to be materially different from future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and
describe future plans, strategies and expectations of the Company, are
generally identifiable by use of the words "may," "will," "should,"
"expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," or "project"
or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or
comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on
assumptions that may be incorrect, and there can be no assurance that
these projections included in these forward-looking statements will
come to pass. Actual results of the Company could differ materially
from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements as a
result of various factors, including, without limitation, the following
factors, risks and uncertainties: (1) we are wholly dependent on our
diamond production technology, and we may be unable to achieve
high-yield production; (2) we have very limited operating history, and
therefore, it is difficult to evaluate our business and prospects; (3)
our ability to develop our core technologies is subject to
uncertainties that are created by, among other things, the complexity
of diamond manufacturing, high customer standards, dependence on third
parties for certain complex components, the need to successfully
integrate several complex components, dependence upon our employees and
consultants to maintain an adequate testing and technical support
infrastructure for successful adoption and rollout of lab grown
diamonds to customers, and our lack of experience in these areas; (4)
we may not be able to establish effective distribution channels or
distributors for our products; (5) we expect future losses and will
need additional funding; (6) competitors may have significantly greater
financial, technical, manufacturing and marketing resources and access
to distribution channels than we have; (7) our business model is
unproven; (8) our diamond manufacturing technology is vulnerable to
disruptions due to a variety of factors, which may lead to
interruptions, delays, and losses of opportunities or inability to
consistently market and sell our lab grown diamonds; (9) we may not be
able to effectively manage the potential rapid growth of our
operations; (10) we depend on our key management personnel, most of
whom have either never worked together or who have worked together for
only a short period of time, and the loss of the services of our
executive officers or other key employees could have a material adverse
effect on our business; (11) we will need to hire additional personnel,
and if we fail to successfully attract, assimilate and retain a
sufficient number of qualified executive, technical, managerial, sales
and marketing, business development and administrative personnel, our
business could suffer; (12) we may not be able to achieve a critical
mass of customers and strategic relationships; (13) we may not be able
to establish brand awareness that is needed to achieve and maintain a
significant market share; (14) the current and future state of the
global economy may curtail our operations and our potential revenues;
(15) acts of war, terrorism or other unknown and unexpected events
could disrupt our business; (16) we have essentially no historical
revenues and had a "going concern" qualification for our last audited
financial statements; (17) the potential market for our lab grown
diamonds is unproven and may not materialize; (18) we face significant
competition, including from companies which are much larger, well known
and have more resources than us; (19) rapid technological change will
affect our business and our production capabilities may not
successfully evolve; (20) we may have limited protection of our
intellectual property and proprietary rights, and we may not be able to
maintain the propriety and/or confidentiality of the technology; and
(21) substantial governmental regulations govern the testing, creation
and sale of the types of diamonds we intend to produce and may restrict
our ability to sell our lab grown diamonds. Except as required by
applicable laws, the company undertakes no obligation to update
publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new
information becomes available or other events occur in the future.